GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms Completes Acquisition of Process Technology Assets from MTL Instruments Group
Commitment To Process Customers and Solutions Further Enhances Solution Offerings
Charlottesville, VA, May, 22, 2008 GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of assets of the MTL Open System Technologies (MOST) product lines including the MTL8000 general purpose I/O, intrinsically safe I/O, SafetyNet system, and process control technologies.
"Customers with the need for SIL2 safety systems or Intrinsically Safe Field Mounted I/O will benefit from this new offering," said Bill Estep, Vice President of GE Fanuc's Control Systems Business. "This acquisition illustrates GE Fanuc's commitment to the process market segments and will further enhance our offerings by providing customers with a superior line of SIL2 controls, intrinsically safe rated I/O modules and process control technologies."
The MTL8000 I/O and its proven technologies are deployed around the world by process system OEMs, system integrators, and end users to solve their most demanding process control applications. It is built to withstand the extremes of temperature and vibration as well as the hazardous and corrosive gases that rule out the use of conventional I/O in unfriendly environments.
SafetyNet is a SIL2 certified system that provides a comprehensive solution for safety-related applications, including: process shut down (PSD), emergency shut down (ESD) systems and burner management systems.
"This is an excellent fit for GE Fanuc, who will now have a full line of SIL 2 compliant and intrinsically safe open control platform products," said Larry O'Brien, Research Director, Process Automation for ARC Advisory Group. "MOST has had a lot of success in applications where a pure PLC platform provides too little functionality and a full-blown DCS too much, a space that GE Fanuc fully addresses with their PAC Systems. The MOST offering essentially provides a blank slate to which GE Fanuc can apply its own application expertise, and further develop GE Fanuc's adherence to ARC's Collaborative Production Systems (CPS) model."
With the addition of a line of ruggedized process I/O, intrinsically safe I/O, and a certified SIL2 safety system to its process solutions, GE Fanuc is now able to more fully address the process and safety needs of key process industries including Oil & Gas, Chemical & Petrochemical, Water/Wastewater, Power and Energy, and Mining and Metals. The MOST Process I/O provides a ruggedized solution with a -40° C to +70° C extended operating temperature and G3 coating. Combined with the intrinsically safe I/O it provides a cost-effective distributed solution that can be mounted directly in Division 2/Zone 2 with wiring directly to devices in Zone 1 hazardous areas.
"GE Fanuc looks forward to working with the many integrators who have worked with the MTL products in the past to provide superior process solutions to our extended customer base," continued Estep. "A key part of our strategy for process solutions is based on working closely with System Integrators to provide value added domain expertise and flexibility for a wide array of customer solutions.
About GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a joint venture between General Electric (NYSE: GE) and FANUC LTD of Japan, is a high-performance technology company and a global provider of hardware, software, services, expertise and experience in automation and embedded computing, with products employed in virtually every industry, including manufacturing automation, defense, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare and aerospace. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms is a worldwide company head-quartered in Charlottesville, VA, and is part of GE Enterprise Solutions. For more information, visit www.gefanuc.com.
For more information contact:
Elli Holman
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms,
Public Relations Manager
t: +1 508 698 7456
m: +1 508 298 8306
e: elli.holman@gefanuc.com
